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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:From Guesstimates to GPStimates: land area measurement and implications for agricultural analysis
Authors:Carletto, Calogero
Gourlay, Sydney
Winters, PaulISNI
Year:2015
Periodical:Journal of African Economies (ISSN 0963-8024)
Volume:24
Issue:5
Pages:593-628
Language:English
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Malawi
Uganda
Tanzania
Niger
Subjects:land surveying
agricultural research
agricultural productivity
External link:https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejv011
Abstract:Development goals and poverty-reduction policies are often focused on raising agricultural productivity and dependent on farm household level data. Historically, household surveys commonly employed self-reported land area measurements for cost-effectiveness and convenience. However, as the authors illustrate, these self-reported estimates may measure land with systematic error resulting in sizable biases. This has led to the increased use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and other modern technologies to measure land size. In this article, the authors compare self-reported (SR) and GPS land measurement to assess the differences between the measures, to identify the sources of differences, and to determine the implications of the different measures on agricultural analysis. The results from the analysis of data from four African countries indicate that SR land areas systematically differ from GPS land measures and that this difference leads to biased estimates of the relationship between land and productivity and consistently low estimates of land inequality. Through the evidence and analysis presented here, the authors conclude that the more systematic use of GPS-measured land area will result in improved agricultural statistics and more accurate analysis of agricultural relationships, which will better inform future policy. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]
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